On 10 November 2008, RWE Energy, Siemens AG, ef.Ruhr (affiliation of university chairs from the universities of Duisburg/Essen, Bochum and Dortmund), Miele, SWK (Stadtwerke Krefeld-Gruppe) and ProSyst began the practical implementation of their joint project on the "Development and demonstration of locally networked energy systems to the E-Energy marketplace of the future", in short "E-DeMa", as a syndicate of companies. The syndicate won an award within the scope of an „E-Energy" competition of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in March 2008.

The future is digital. What began with the introduction of the first computer, continued via CD and MP3 players, has now reached an area which most people only notice when they descend into their cellar: electricity meters.